[Action]

[vermified]

[Edward's been feeling rather disgruntled and downcast lately - moreso than usual, at that - so he's finally decided to take Sokka up on his offer to visit and, hopefully, catch Katara's evening Waterbending session to see if it cheers him up some. He's also bringing a little present for his fellow smithy worker, so hopefully he's home

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[Well, if he comes around after dinner the chances are very good that he is going to find her doing her daily practice session. Since it's the second day of a heat wave, Katara's practice has her coating her arms in water and working through basic forms using that water as her bending source.

She's not far from the house, in a clearing between it and the barracks.]

[markofthebrave]

His mother...

[She's derailed, for a moment, thinking about how horrible it would be to have someone that close in a place like this, and how hard she'd have focused on protecting that person. But then she shakes herself and looks back up to Edward.]

An enemy of ours just got sent home too. Azula. I don't know if Sokka told you about her?

[vermified]

Briefly, yes, and I remember her being mentioned over the journals. She was a Firebender, wasn't she? Are they all enemies? [Kind of hard to believe, all things considered. Fayel's not exactly the most welcoming place for him, but they're far from supporters of Leonid.]

[markofthebrave]

...it depends on what time period they're from. [And, since they're talking, she raises her arms to the side and lets the water stream back towards the containers she brought it in.]

They've been at war with the rest of the world for a hundred years. So if they're from before the war started... that's all right. Other than that, the only people I know who are firebenders and not out to rule the world are Zuko and Iroh... and that's only changed pretty recently.

[vermified]

[Ah, time periods. Such complicated things they are. He can sympathize with the change of heart thing, though.

He watches her withdraw the water with mild regret; it really was a beautiful technique, and he hated to interrupt it.]

That... is a very long war. I can't imagine experiencing something like that for so long. The Order of Chains haven't even been hurting our world for a decade, let alone a century.

[markofthebrave]

[Yeah, it is a very long war. And although she'd say she hadn't experienced that war... just looking at Roku, looking at Aang - no, their world is forever altered due to the Fire Nation. But she doesn't talk about any of this because her curiosity is far more prominent and a certain someone hadn't mentioned anything about that.]

The Order of Chains?

[vermified]

[Probably because he never explains more than he has to. Dammit, Sigmund.]

Our enemies, the ones trying to bring the world to ruin. Their leader, Leonid, was here in Luceti for a time, but we couldn't defeat him.

[markofthebrave]

...trying to bring the world into ruin?

[Yes. No one ever mentioned anything like this.] That's insane!

[vermified]

Leonid is insane, and so is his obsession with the moon god. Unfortunately it's making everyone else suffer.

[markofthebrave]

...obsession with the moon god? [That sounds... a bit like Zhao to her. And she vaguely remembers something from her conversation with Sigmund...]

Isn't the moon god what's responsible for making it so that your people can use the elements?

[vermified]

[He nods at that.] The god blesses each child at birth, giving them a lunaglyph. [He brushes his fingers over the back of his other hand, expression somewhat thoughtful.] Though these days they're more like a curse.

[markofthebrave]

What do you mean? [She remembers that Sigmund had said that people without an ability weren't treated fairly... but she hadn't heard that people with abilities were having problems too...

...besides being stupid, ignorant, and living in a hateful world. But that might have just been her inference. >>]

[vermified]

[....Ah. Awkwardness. He's quiet for a moment, visibly uncomfortable. And her assumptions about the world aren't exactly wrong.]

...In part, those given lunaglyphs are paying for their crimes against those without. There is a rain falling all over the lands that can kill, or worse.

[markofthebrave]

Rain that can kill... that's terrible.

[...processing...

Well. Katara doesn't really have any problem with the people in that world being shown that they were wrong. The persecution against their own people - just because they didn't have powers - infuriated her. But Edward had also mentioned an enemy.]

Does that have anything to do with what Leonid is doing?

[vermified]

No one knows the cause of the rain yet. Everyone said it was a blessing from the god until we learned of the damage it could cause. It could be Leonid, or the god, or the moon itself... I wish I knew. [Then he could deal with it properly.]

[markofthebrave]

I see...

[Have a smile.] I'm sure you'll figure it out, when you get back home.